Reviewed by Chris
TITLE: Designer Holiday 
AUTHOR: Ari McKay
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 132 pages
RELEASE DATE: December 8, 2018
BLURB:
It’s never too late for a second chance at love… or is it?
Rayne Sadler left the tiny town of Holiday Pines and his childhood sweetheart, Emilio Rives, to make a name for himself in the world of interior design. For twelve years, he never looked back. Now he has the successful career he wanted, but no one to share his life.
Emilio isn’t happy when Rayne returns to Holiday Pines to renovate the local playhouse. The town wants to stimulate the failing tourist industry, but Emilio has no interest in reviving the ashes of his relationship with Rayne.
Yet shared memories and experiences are powerful things. As the playhouse is restored to its former glory, the friendship between Rayne and Emilio slowly returns as well, and their chemistry is as powerful as ever. Rayne has designs on Emilio’s heart, and he sets out to prove it. Will the magic of Christmas thaw Emilio’s heart, or will it remain as cold as mountain snow?
REVIEW:
When Rayne Sadler returns to his home town he has…well, not high, but certainly hopeful expectations. He has been hired to help restore the towns dilapidated theater, and since the theater used to hold such fond memories for him, Rayne is hoping to give back a little of the joy he got from it growing up. And if coming back to Holiday Pines puts him in the path of his childhood sweetheart…well, Rayne wouldn’t say no. Unfortunately he wasn’t planning on Emilio Rives not having quite as fond memories of their relationship as Rayne does.
While on the whole this was a pleasant little Christmas story, I think my brain just wasn’t in the right place to enjoy it. It had a lot of the things I find charming about these kinds of stories–lots of snow, a second chance a love, holiday cheer leaking out all over the page–but there were a few things that had to do with the characters that didn’t quite work enough for me.
Mostly with Emilio. I just…ok, it has been 12 years since he and Rayne broke up. They were teens, barely out of high school. I get that it was an emotional mess for Emilio. But, like, it has been 12 years. His seething ball of anger seemed a bit over the top. He is in his 30s by now, shouldn’t he have had at some point the universal recognition that teenagers are stupid and make stupid decisions, and so it is best to just move the fuck on? It’d get it more if Rayne had been a fucking asshole about it…but he didn’t. He was just a kid who realized he wasn’t ready for Happily Ever After at the age of 18. It seemed like Emilio, and even the book at times, wanted to dump all this blame on Rayne for that. I can’t help but feel that was a bit unfair.
That is my only major complaint about this story, though, so if that sounds like something that wouldn’t bug you I’d say give this story a look-see. As with most Christmas-themed stories it is fairly light and sweet. A good companion to a yummy cup of coffee and snuggley blanket.
RATING: 
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